Brennan Manning Interview

CULTIVATE GOOD THOUGHTS FOR SUCCESS!

“You’ll do best by filling your minds and meditating on things true, noble, reputable, authentic, compelling, gracious—the best, not the worst; the beautiful, not the ugly; things to praise, not things to curse.”

Philippians 4:8 MSG

If the mind can be likened to the soil of a garden, then thoughts would be the seeds we plant in that soil.

The average person thinks about 50,000 thoughts a day.

That’s a lot of seed being planted in the soil of your soul.

In her book, Who Switched Off My Brain, Dr. Caroline Leaf wrote, “What you think about expands and grows.”

How much of what you are sowing is fruit bearing and how much is more like thistle?

The starting point of all achievement is the mind.

A thought, like a seed, is a container of life potential that must be nurtured, fed, watered, protected, and harvested.

There are thoughts that hold the key to your future, and thoughts that can trip you up and choke the life force—that divine potential—hidden within the realm of cognition.

The quality of the harvest of your life is determined by the quality of the seeds you sow.

Those seeds are the thoughts you cultivate in your mind—thoughts that are tilled by the words you speak from your mouth.

Last week we talked about the power of prayer to change the world around you. Yet even more powerful is prayer’s ability to change the world within you.

Prosper your life by prospering your soul. Tell your mind how to think by speaking to it—by taking control of the words you speak over your life.

Your words determine your thoughts, and your thoughts determine who you are, what you do, what you acquire, where you live, whom you love, who you will become, and what you will accomplish.

Refuse to allow one word—one weed—to crowd out your seed of greatness, success, prosperity, wealth, righteousness, credibility, influence, affluence, favor, or peace.

You will never do anything more great than what your mind can articulate.

You will never have more, go further, or accomplish greater things than what you are able to comprehend, perceive, or visualize.

In fact, says Dr. Leaf, the thoughts of your mind create changes right down to your genes on a molecular level, restructuring the atomic composition of your very cells!

Scientists have shown that this restructuring is not only how diseases are able to take hold in the body, but more importantly, how they can be reversed.

When we choose non-toxic thinking, we step into a whole new realm of brain and body function.

Healthy, non-toxic thoughts help nurture and create a positive foundation in the neural networks of the mind.

Feel good chemicals are released that make us feel peaceful and promote healing, memory formation, and a deep sense of wholeness, that when combined together, stimulate your cells’ innate intelligence.

Think positively about where you want  your life—spirit, soul, and body—to be.

Your feet will never take you where your mind has never been.

Prosperity begins in the mind, and is impossible to cultivate with a negative mental attitude.

You must think peaceful, abundant, and prosperous thoughts before you will experience peace, abundance, and prosperity in your life. You must think successful thoughts if you hope to achieve success.

Your success hinges on your perception of your capabilities and potential. Don’t allow your thoughts and beliefs to be dictated by your moods, emotions, and feelings.

Work consciously on displacing negative thoughts with positive ones.

The beautiful thing about thinking is that it is something we all can do for free. Your background, education, socio-economic status, or IQ cannot prohibit you from thinking.

Yet, in order to do this, you must create a thinking habit, cultivate a healthy thinking environment, practice thinking for your self, and then learn to think outside of the box.

Never lose the power to think for yourself.

Your thoughts are powerful, and you have a God-given capacity to think potent thoughts. Grab hold of the concept of “possibility thinking.”

On the other hand, if you can’t think it, then whatever it is, it will not be possible for you.

Discipline yourself to think big: Exercise thinking big, amazing thoughts so you will experience a big, amazing life!

Take the limits from off your thinking. Remove the self-imposed lids. Author William Arthur Ward wrote, “Nothing limits achievement like small thinking.”

Your thoughts determine your destiny.

Think about your future and what you truly want to accomplish in life. Be willing to think bold thoughts—to think outside of the box.

That’s what a pharmacist named Dr. John Pemberton did when he took a jug of his cough syrup to a local drug store and while there thought of adding carbonated water. He bottled it and today there is hardly a person on the planet who is not familiar with the name Coca-Cola.

Pemberton was able to expand the field of possibility by expanding his ability to think.

“Your destiny determines your legacy, and…your legacy determines your history.”

—John Maxwell

Thought is defined as a mental picture of a future or possible event—an expectation or hope that something will happen.

Thinking involves the mental manipulation of information, as when we form concepts, engage in problem solving, and make decisions.

Thinking allows ordinary human beings to model their world and to fashion it according to their objectives, plans, goals, and desires.

Thought allows you to model the world according to your objectives and desires.

The power tool of your thoughts is the most important tool you have when it comes to framing your world.

Learn to focus your thoughts—to harness and use them for maximum results…because the quality of your life is determined by the quality of your thoughts.

You can begin today developing powerful thought habits that will turbo-charge your journey toward creating a history-making destiny.

“Let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think.”

Romans 12:2 NLT

Condemning Sin

Q: I have a question about how you answer the rare occasions when Jesus apparently felt it necessary to publicly condemn sin: like the cleansing of the temple and his very strong judgments on Pharisees and rulers in Matthew 23. Also John the Baptist who not only preached strongly regarding public sins but was imprisoned for judgmental condemnation of Herod taking his brothers wife?

A: Thanks for the question. It’s important to remember that both Jesus and John the Baptist were operating under the First Covenant where it was understood that the job of prophets was to hold fellow Jews, and Jewish institutions, accountable to the terms of the covenant. So you find Jesus cleansing the Jewish temple, but he didn’t concern himself with pagan temples. And John the Baptist confronts Herod, the Jewish King, but he doesn’t go after Pilate or Caesar.

So too, we are only permitted to exercise discernment with people we are in covenant relationships with. So, for example, Paul tells the Corinthians to expel an unrepentant man from the church, but tells them, “What business is it of mine to judge those outside the church? Judge [or practice discernment with] those inside the church” (I Cor 5: 9-13). Outside of such covenants, I contend, we are allowed only ONE opinion about people…”Jesus Christ and him crucified” (1 Cor 2:2).

Hope this helps.

Greg Boyd

No Footprints

The waters saw You, O God, the waters saw you and writhed; the very depths were convulsed. The clouds poured down water, the skies resounded with thunder; your arrows flashed back and forth. Your thunder was heard in the whirlwind, your lightning lit up the world; the earth trembled and quaked . . . but Your footprints were not seen (Ps. 77:16-19 NIV Paraphrase).

Wouldn’t it be incredibly wonderful if we could have the evidence of Christ walking with us because His footprints were there in the dirt–right by ours? If we could see Him, kneeling down, digging in the garden making all the flowers grow? If we could watch Him use His pastels for the colors of the dawn and then change to His vivid acrylics as the big orange disc disappears below the horizon? How comforting if we could actually turn our head and see Him sitting in the swing with us; if we could hear His voice, and feel His arm around our shoulder. Sigh. Could I please see a footprint or two?

But the truth about God is known to men instinctively. God has put this knowledge in their heart. Since earliest times men have seen the earth and sky and all God made, and have known of His existence and great eternal power. So when they declare ‘But there are no footprints!’ they will be without excuse! (Romans 1:20 LB Paraphrase).

Robinson Crusoe was horrified as the cannibals slaughtered one man and then watched mesmerized as he saw the other captive break and run for freedom. His world was radically changed when he made himself known and protected the young savage. He now had a friend, a man like himself on his tropical island, one who made footprints in the sand right by his. So began the slow process of coming to know each other. Daily, they walked together, ate together, spent hours talking and exploring each other’s thoughts. They were inseparable.

Jesus, our constant companion is right here on this huge “earth” island with us and our lives will be radically changed when we accept/recognize His presence. I know, not only is He WITH us, He is IN us. But neither of those truths will be real to us until we acknowledge His life within us or practice His presence with us.

Oh, His footprints are all around, from the writhing waters of a stormy Atlantic to the lazy flow of the Muddy Boggy River in eastern Oklahoma; from the tiniest buttercups in a green pasture in Missouri to the towering redwoods of California; from the majestic, snow-capped Mt. Hood in Oregon to the prickly fingers of an isolated cactus in Arizona; from the gentle breeze that brushes against our cheek in North Carolina to the deafening roar of Niagara. We are looking at His footprints! And when we discover Him, when we accept His presence, we talk to each other, dine together, hike as a team, talk about everything and we become best friends–inseparable.

Lord, please don’t let my blindness isolate me from You. I don’t need to see your footprints on the carpet to know that You are walking with me. I accept that You are sitting with me in the cool of the day out in the front yard. Not because of seeing and touching, but because of believing. You have promised that You are with me wherever I go. I absolutely refuse to think otherwise.

God delights in pointing out His footprints for me.

- Annabel Gillham

Too Good to be True But It Is

I Timothy 6:11 (NAS)

…and pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, perseverance, and gentleness

Pursue: (1) to follow in order to overtake or capture; chase (2) to follow a specified course, action (3) to strive for

Paul told Timothy to steer clear of one thing especially-the love of money.

“Timothy, let me warn you about something. Men who have as their goal becoming wealthy expose themselves to all sorts of temptations. It’s one of the most common traps that Satan will use in the world. These men become obsessed with money and how to get it, and will do all sorts of foolish and wicked things, passionately pursuing their desire for wealth. This can separate them from their faith and even destroy them and when they become aware of what they have done they agonize over their foolishness (I Timothy 6:9-10, my paraphrase).

Then, he told Timothy: Run from this trap, my dearly beloved Timothy. Instead of this, pursue . . .. Pursue what, Paul? Righteousness, godliness, faith, love, perseverance, and gentleness. And you immediately retaliate: “I’ve tried and tried and tried-and I just can’t be all of those things, Anabel. It’s beyond my capability.”

Let me share something with you that will set you free and completely amaze you-you’ll shake your head with wonder and gratitude and whisper, “How incredible!”

What is righteousness? My Identity

What is godliness? My character

What is faith? My source

What is love? My motivation

What is perseverance? My mind-set

What is gentleness? My behavior toward others.

Do you realize that you don’t have to pursue these things? They are yours! They are mine! How? Through our beloved Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, who is the personification of all those things! He changed me. I am a new creation because of my relationship with Him! I AM all of those things-righteousness, godliness, love, perseverance, gentleness because He is-and He is in me-and will be through me.

Oh, I tried for so many years to BE righteous and godly, loving and determined, being all that folks needed me to be-gentle, thoughtful and kind. I must confess that I failed and then lived in depression for weeks because of my failure. But I refused to stay down: I’d painfully pull myself up, dust myself off and try, try, try again-and fail!

Then, I became an instructed Christian and found that all that I am or ever hope to be is wrapped up in Him-not my struggling and failing or my success and celebrations!1 That is faith. Faith is living like God tells the truth. Faith is walking like the person He made me to be. Faith is trusting Him to come through. Will He?

With apologies to Whittier: Alas for him who has not learned in hours of faith, the truth to flesh and sense unknown, that God’s promises never fail and He will never deceive His own.

Meet the real you. Meet the real me. We’re pretty neat people, you know. God made us that way! Thanks be to God for His indescribable gift to us-Jesus Christ (II Cor. 9:15)!

- Annabel Gillham

Some Thoughts on Women in Ministry

Throughout the testimony of Scripture, we have examples of God tolerating many things that are far from ideal in order to gradually transform the world in the direction he intends for us. For example, God’s ideal from the beginning was monogamy. But throughout most of history God has tolerated and worked within polygamous cultures in order to eventually transform them (e.g. Gen 29). Similarly, God’s ideal has always been freedom for all people made in his image. Yet for centuries God tolerated and worked within systems of slavery in order to eventually overthrow them (e.g. Eph 6:5-9).

I believe that the subservient role of women to men, especially concerning their prohibition from serving as spiritual leaders, is another aspect of fallen culture that God wants to overthrow. God tolerated and worked within the patriarchal cultures of both the Old and the New Testaments. But his ideal —and thus the ideal the Church should be striving for—is for leadership to be gift-based, not gender-based.

While I do not dispute that there are verses that teach that women are to submit to men and that expressly forbid women to exercise spiritual authority over men (e.g. 2 Tim. 2:11-14), I do challenge the conclusion that these passages express God’s will for all time. If this constituted part of the created order and God’s ideal, we would not find counter-examples of it. As matters stand, however, the Bible contains many examples of women exercising spiritual authority over men. I offer ten such examples.

God incorporated the songs and statements of a number of women into his inspired authoritative Scripture (e.g., Ex 15:21; Judges 5; Luke 1:42-46; etc.). Inasmuch as the whole Word of God has authority over believers, these passages constitute examples of women having spiritual authority over all who read them (including men).

Women were given the same command to “rule” over creation as were men. “So God created humankind in his image … male and female he created them. God blessed them, and God said to them, ‘Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth and subdue it …” (Gen 1:27-28, emphasis added).

God commanded Abraham to obey his wife Sarah (Gen. 21:12). If female submission was part of God’s creational design, this command would constitute a violation of nature!

Miriam is mentioned as a leader of Israel alongside Moses and Aaron (Micah 6:4; cf. Ps 68:11). Miriam was also a noted worship leader (Ex. 15:20-21).

Deborah served as an admirable judge and leader over all Israel (Judges 4-5). This example alone is enough to show that it is acceptable for a woman who is so gifted to exercise strong leadership over men and women alike.

Throughout Scripture we find female prophets. Huldah was a prophetess that both men and women consulted (II Kgs 22:14). Noadiah and Anna are also depicted as prophetesses who could teach (Neh 6:14; Lk 2:36-38). Indeed, a portion of Anna’s teaching about Christ is found in Scripture (hence has authority over all who read it). More generally, evidence of the out-pouring of the Spirit in the New Testament was that “both sons and … daughters [would] prophesy…. Even … slaves, both men and women … shall prophesy” (Acts 2:16-18). Hence we are not surprised to find that each of Philip’s four daughters possessed the “gift of prophecy” (Acts 21:8-9). Nor are we surprised to find that Paul allowed women to prophesy in church, so long as they kept their head covered (I Cor. 11:4-5).

God used women as the first Christian evangelists, proclaiming (to the male apostles!) the truth that Jesus was risen from the tomb (Jn 20:16-18).

Both Priscilla and Aquila were said to teach the man Apollos (Acts 18:26). This presupposes that women can in principle teach men.

In Romans 16:1-12, Paul lists a number of women involved in Christian service. Phoebe is called a “deacon” (vss. 1-2); Priscilla is given equal status to her husband Aquila in their Kingdom work (vss. 3-4); Mary is described as a hard worker among believers (vs. 6); Andronicus and Junia are said to be “prominent among the apostles” (vs. 7); and Tryphosa and Persis are described as “workers” in the Lord (vs. 12).

Euodia and Syntyche are referred to as “co-workers” by Paul—as much as Clement or any man (Philippians 4:2-3).

If it was part of God’s creational ideal that women never exercise spiritual authority over men, we should not have counter-examples such as these throughout Scripture. The fact that we have a wealth of such examples is enough to prove that the prohibition against women being spiritual leaders is cultural, not timeless.

While God’s willingness to temporarily accommodate himself to fallen cultures is expressed in the prohibition passages, I propose that God’s ideal will is expressed in passages such as Galatians 3:28. Here Paul writes: “There is no longer Jew or Greek, there is no longer slave or free, there is no longer male and female; for all of you are one in Christ Jesus.” Whatever other implications we derive from this passage, it seems evident that restricting roles on the basis of gender is no more justified in the body of Christ than restricting roles on the basis of race or class. There are cultural situations—the first century, for example—where such restrictions must in fact be tolerated. But they must always be what the Church works against as it strives to realize God’s ideal in the world.

Related to this, whenever Paul or anyone else discusses ministry in the Church, they speak of gift-based roles, not gender roles. Indeed, never once in any of the “gift-lists” of the New Testament is there any hint that certain gifts are inextricably connected to a person’s gender, including the gift of pastor, teacher, and evangelist (e.g., Eph 4:11; I Cor 12:4-31). This absence of gender specification is hardly what we would expect if indeed the leadership gifts were restricted to men, for we know that the issue of women in leadership was certainly present in New Testament churches (e.g., I Cor. 11:1-16; 2 Tim. 2:11-14). Instead we find the straight-forward declaration that “there are varieties of gifts … varieties of services … varieties of activities, but it is the same God who activates all of them in everyone’ (I Cor. 12:4-6, emphasis added). Again, the Spirit “allots [gifts] to each one individually just as the Spirit chooses.” (I Cor. 12:11). There’s no hint that gender has anything to do with the Spirits’ choosing.

While fallen cultures have consistently pigeonholed people according to gender, race or class, the Spirit of God is about freeing people from these arbitrary restrictions and liberating people to exercise their God-given gifts. As Peter declared so powerfully on the day of Pentecost, the Spirit is now being poured out on “all flesh,” with the result that surprising people are going to be used by God in surprising ways. Both women and men will be used to authoritatively and prophetically declare the wonders of God (Acts 2:16-18).

We are guilty of idolizing fallen culture and of quenching the Spirit if we canonize first century restrictions against woman and construe them as part of God’s ideal for all time. It is no different than when certain Christians in past generations tried to use the Bible’s acceptance of slavery as a justification for its on-going practice.

- Greg Boyd

Pragmatic Deductions

Knowing what I know of God through His revealed Word and His performance among His people in the world since that revealed Word was consummated, what do I believe He will do with those things that I have given to Him? those things that I have entrusted to His care?

What has He said He will do? Do I really believe Him?

I say, “They are in Your hands.” Are His hands loving? strong? tender? Think of His hands ministering as He walked on Planet Earth. Is there one incident-even one-that demonstrates anything but love?

I have asked Him to work in the lives of my loved ones. Does He have the power to do this, or is He impotent?Is there anyone else to whom I would attribute more power than to Him?

Does He desire the very best for me and my loved ones? Yes. My problem is that I think I know what is best. How foolish of me! He sees into the future. He knows what is going to happen. I can only surmise and then when He initiates His plan, I am hampered because I cannot see the wisdom or the fulfillment of His plan. I begin to question His love, His loyalty, His omniscience.

Do I know what His ultimate goal is? Yes. It is to so conform me to His image that I am prepared to live in His presence eternally.

Is there anyone-anyone at all-to whom I would rather entrust my life or the lives of my loved ones? No.

“I would have despaired unless I had believed.” Ps. 27:13

Reflection:

Lord, I cry out with the hurting man in Mark’s gospel, “I believe! Please help my unbelief!” I know You. You love me more than anyone has ever, will ever, or could ever love me. And You know what I need-what those in my circle of loved ones need. I so often am prone to think, “Lord! What in the world are You doing? Are You going to sit back and allow this to happen? I cannot comprehend this!”

Help me, Lord, to believe.

“You believed that God would do what He said; that is why He has given you this wonderful blessing.”

- Annabel Gillham

Do I Know Him?

My determined purpose is that I may know Him, that I may progressively become more deeply and intimately acquainted with Him . . . . Philippians 3:10 AMP

Campbell McAlpine makes these observations: “You cannot love someone you do not know.”

“It is imperative to establish beyond all doubt that the supreme focus of our thought and study (and action)-the deepest desire of our hearts, is a personal knowledge of a personal God.”

Knowledge cannot be my goal; knowledge makes one arrogant (I Cor. 8:1), puffed up, and offensive. The purpose of my dedication must be singular: To know Jesus Christ and God, His Father. Humanly speaking, how does a person come to know someone? By spending time with that person, confiding in him, allowing him to see you in all situations-confident of his acceptance of you. And, the closer and longer you live together, the better you will know each other. As you listen compassionately, understanding as best you can, trying to help that person observe logically, deny guilt, comprehend the facts of the matter, just spending time with that person, the closer you will become in your relationship.

Of course, God knows me completely, but He always has time to sit down and listen to me–with understanding and compassion; He won’t preach at me; He won’t have ten answers ready to blurt out before I even finish talking, He will just listen. Doesn’t that sound wonderful? Do you have anyone like that in your life? I doubt that you do. Listening has almost become a lost art. In a survey of hundreds of married women, this is the #1 need in their lives: “Husband, listen to me.” And, as the wife gives that same attention to her husband, his need for praise, edification, and authority will be met. And, as we listen, we come to know each other, our innermost thoughts, our dreams, our hurts, our desires, our standards.

How do I listen to God? How do I come to know Him?

Reflection:

Lord, I long to know You better. I realize that this deep desire will be fulfilled as I spend time with just You. That doesn’t mean having my Bible open in front of me at all times. It means being together, talking, laughing, crying, observing, walking leisurely holding hands. I don’t want to read my Bible to meet the goal of “reading through the Bible this year;” I don’t want to spend hours to impress others with my Bible knowledge; I don’t want to have a disciplined time of study so I can check it off as an accomplished goal. No. I want to spend time with You because I want to know You and all Your intricacies. You have very painstakingly told me all about Yourself in Your Word, having others record Your innermost thoughts and Your visions. I read what they have recorded and then You and I talk about it-sitting out in the swing, working on the lawn, washing the dishes. We simply talk. We spend time together. You know me. I want to know You. I love you, Lord.

The Lord says: Let not the wise man bask in his wisdom, nor the mighty man in his might, nor the rich man in his riches. Let them boast in this alone: That they truly know Me . . . . Jeremiah 9:23

- Annabel Gillham

How Close Am I?

But can you name even one of these prophets who lives close enough to God

to hear what he is saying? Has even one of them cared enough to listen? Jeremiah 23:18 (TLB)

My hubby has a hearing aid in his left ear. The right ear has retired from active duty, the left one is now in charge of the command center-being carefully groomed to take over the entire listening program.

We really should have kept a journal of all his inaccurate interpretations through the years. Some of them have been hilarious others have bordered on disaster. I am learning that I must speak distinctly. He is learning that he has to be close enough to hear.

We suffer from this same malady in our relationship with Jesus, don’t we? Our “misinterpretations” are numerous and range from humorous incidents to disastrous garbled signals. We have to be wary, correctly distinguishing truth and error, but the most important factor is that we must stay close enough to hear. Add to that our desire to hear. Do we really care enough to listen?

Okay. Point made. Tell me-how do I distinguish between truth and error?

When you “think” you have heard from God, check out what He says about this circumstance in the Covenant we made together-His Word. Read it again and again. Use the cross references. Use your dictionary. Consult a person you respect for Bible skills. God’s impressed messages will never deviate from His revealed Word. You’ll never graduate from this class. It is a continuous process where we (1) listen, (2) decipher, and (3) research. As you do this, you’ll be able to say, “This doesn’t come from God! He wouldn’t lead me to do something like this!” “God would never hurt someone like this-this just can’t be coming from Him!” “God has explicitly told me not to do this. What in the world am I thinking? He wouldn’t tell me not to do something and then lead me to do it!”

And you “stay close enough to hear.” That’s clear, isn’t it? You’re not close enough when you’re being rebellious; you’re not close enough when you never give Him a thought unless you bump into an emergency-so many of us use Him as a crisis “911 God.” You’re not close enough if you never open your Bible except to find the scripture that the pastor references in his Sunday morning message. You’re not close enough if none of your work associates know that you are a Christian. Staying close means just that-staying close, so close that other people know He is walking with you, that He is a very important facet of your life.

Our little dog, Wesley, is never more than four or five feet from me when he’s in the house. He knows I’m going to fix his supper; he knows he can get up on my lap and I’ll smooth his fur and give him my undivided attention for a few minutes; he knows that I love him and will take him on walks and play with him. He knows that I won’t scold him when the thunder starts, but that I’ll let him sit on my foot-real close. He appreciates my training him. I brag on him and say, “What a wonderful dog you are!” and give him tidbits during the sessions. He loves me and he knows that I love him, so he stays close. He’s comfortable there. Secure.

Secure. What a captivating concept! Knowing and staying close brings security. Maybe I better say that again-for my benefit and yours. Knowing and staying close brings security. How I need that!

Reflection:

Lord, I want to be close enough to You to hear what You’re saying. I know that You’re always willing for me to “sit on Your foot” when I’m scared, crawl up in Your lap when I need some special love and attention, and that You’re committed to taking good care of me (Ephesians 1:4 JBP). All of those things spell security-and I desperately need that. Thank You, dear One, for providing security for me. I just have to stay real close. I love You so much.

I get as close to God as I can (LB). Psalm 73:28(a)

- Annabel Gillham

Life’s Raging Waters

“When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and when you pass through the rivers, they will not sweep over you.” – Isaiah 43:2a

Last month I had the opportunity to travel to Brazil to visit a good friend. While I was there, we took a day trip to see Iguazu Falls. Iguazu Falls is one of the seven natural wonders of the world and consists of 275 waterfalls over a stretch of roughly 1.7 miles. It’s an amazing site to behold!

After walking along the path to view all of the amazing falls from the Brazilian side of the Iguazu River, we made our way back to the bus stop to start our journey home. From the bus stop, we could see several miles upstream where the water is calm. As we were waiting for the bus, I spotted a leaf floating along the quiet part of the river — floating along with no idea of what its journey held just 50 yards away.

Life is often much like this leaf’s journey. We move through our days in relative peace checking items off our to-do list, raising our kids, studying for exams, feeding our families, or driving carpool. Within moments our lives are interrupted by unexpected circumstances, and we feel like the rushing waters will overtake us. Many of my friends have recently experienced this abrupt change in circumstances. A 15-year old killed in a car accident after enjoying a weekend with his family, a pre-teen son dead after being diagnosed with Leukemia two weeks earlier, a young lady awakens to blurred vision and discovers that she has a fatal brain tumor, a husband on the verge of retirement fired from his job — the list goes on and on.

These circumstances often prompt us to ask many questions about God, our self and life in general — Why? Where are you? What are you trying to teach me? Is this necessary? What have I done?

As I watched that leaf float along, I was struck by the fact that the water was the source of its movement. In our life, God carries us along. Regardless of the circumstances, He is the very source of our life. Not only is He our source of life, He has promised to never leave us or forsake us. As God stated to Israel in Isaiah 43, “When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and when you pass through the rivers, they will not sweep over you.” In the midst of the raging rapids, it is easy to forget his promise to us. Thankfully He is faithful regardless of our emotional state in the midst of difficult circumstances. It’s likely all of us will face raging waters at some point in life, but we can rest in the fact that He is with us, He is for us, and He will carry us through.

- Donna Downs

Self-Consciousness Robs You of Rest

Oswald Chamber’s devotional books have been on most everybody’s kitchen table at one time or another (depending on age, of course!). His thoughts are often relevant to a lot of us—personally and decisively relevant more often than not!

These thoughts from My Utmost for His Highest, August 19th and 20th, cut right to the quick for me—in other words, they were personally and decisively relevant! He said: “Self-consciousness is the first thing that will upset the completeness of the life in God and self-consciousness continually produces wrestling.”

Now I need to remember that self-consciousness isn’t always thinking I’m a winner and that I am thankful that I have “me” in my life! Other people make so many mistakes. They just need to be more like me! No. It is also thinking very little of me and wishing I were out of the picture. It is thoughts about “self”—self-pity, self-loathing, self-aggrandizement, self-reliance, false humility, pride, or any of those disgusting, self-centered things. It can be self-exaltation or self-degradation. Self-consciousness is simply setting my mind on me and mine, negatively or positively.

So do I hear him saying that if I center in on myself that my relationship with the Lord can be damaged and that I’ll experience wrestling? What is that? Well, one definition would be grabbing things out of His hands and taking over the circumstances in my life myself—”I can do it! Anabel can handle this! I know exactly what needs to be done! I don’t need to seek His thoughts on this issue.” It is the absence of God’s rest, of contentment, of peace. It is feeling uneasy, worry, fear, constantly evaluating my circumstances, the people in my world, rejection, resentment, pride, hurt feelings, ad infinitum. These things come about through self-consciousness and when they do, my walk with the Lord suffers. I have certainly and painfully found this to be true. Self-consciousness robs me of rest.

Chambers says anything that disturbs my rest in Him must be taken care of immediately; that I must never allow anything to remain that is causing a separation between Christ and myself. A separation? Ignoring Him and taking control instead of trusting: Doing things my way instead of His way. This thought-battle is going on in my mind. It may at times be a minor skirmish, maybe a subdued but persistent struggle, or at times a fierce, raging battle.

So, what is my strategy? Bring “will” into the fray! Choose to stop those thoughts! Choose to change what I am thinking about.1 Get control of my thought-life! Ignore self and all of self’s problems! Wave the white flag and let God take control. How do I do that? Talk to Christ continually. Have lengthy conversations with Him. Tell Him what’s happening. He knows everything anyway so don’t try to defend myself. Ask Him to give me Christ-consciousness and don’t let Satan interrupt my conversation with his off-color half-truths.

That sounds too easy, doesn’t it? Don’t I have to DO SOMETHING? Confront? Let off steam? How do I get rid of the emotions that are trying to claw their way out of me? I change what I am thinking about. I quit analyzing what happened, quit blaming myself, quit focusing on myself, what has happened in my life, laying plans for retaliation, etc.

All of those things are filed under self-consciousnessand Chambers has just told us that thinking about yourself and your circumstances will inevitably result in being separated from the Lord and I don’t want that!

Remember, I am not generating those pesky defeating thoughts! I’m receiving them as the Power of Sin sends them into my conscious awareness.2 So I can say “NO!” to that enemy and refuse them. Then, I “Fix my thoughts on what is true, and good, and right, I think about those things that are pure and lovely, and I dwell on the fine good things in others. I think about all I can praise God for and be glad about” (Phil. 4:8 TLB).

Lord, thinking on those things will make me God-conscious and I desperately need that. Oh, I am so cognizant of when I am separated from You and have no rest—and those times are not pleasant to live through or to remember. Please make me very God conscious. It’s not about me. It’s about you, dear One.

- Annabel Gillham

Remember Rest?

“Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.”  – Matthew 11:28-30 NIV

Today, rest stops on our interstate highways are a sign of our times. We have to create places to slow down, stretch, nap, relieve the tedium of endless concrete miles—and turn the radio or CD player off and talk. There are no crossroads on the interstate—places where people used to stop and check their progress. There are only multi-level interchanges designed to let us change direction without stopping. They get us where we want to go, but at a pace that is anything but restful. Where travelers used to rest as they traveled—picnicking, napping, playing in a gurgling stream—today’s motorists use interstate rest stops more like pit stops at the Indy 500—how fast can we get in and out and back on the road? Rest is no longer an integral part of the process of travel. Now it is more like a necessary obstacle, something we have to do in order to reach our destination.

Unfortunately, the spiritual life of many people has become like interstate travel. We push, push, push toward the goal and only stop to rest when absolutely necessary—if we rest at all. God’s chosen people found themselves in a similar situation once, and he made a recommendation to them through the prophet Jeremiah. They had been living such fast-paced lives that they were no longer stopping at the crossroads of their faith, the ancient paths laid down by their forefathers. They were not refreshing themselves with the words of God’s covenant. As a result, God told them to stop at the crossroads and ask directions; ask how to get back on the ancient paths where they would find rest for their souls (Jeremiah 6:16); get off the faithless highways and byways that were leading them away from their God.

Jesus Christ quoted Jeremiah when speaking to some unrepentant cities in Israel; home to people on the fast track, people who had no spiritual peace. “Come to me,” he said, “and you will find rest for your souls.” Could he be speaking to you today as well? Make his rest an integral part of your spiritual journey. Why not arrive refreshed?

 God’s Promise to You:

“Your life in me is a rest stop for your soul.”

- Ken Boa

Has God's Grace and Love really Run-a-Muck?

Grace and Love condemning condemners herald the accusation that graceful loving people have gone over the balance line when it comes to God grace and love. However, when it comes to God's grace and love there is no balance line, grace and love stands firm, you cannot go too far to the left or too far to the right because no matter how far you go God's GRACE is already there and His LOVE has already covered the multitude of wrongs.

Grace and Love as taught by "grace buting, love limiters" has reduced God's Amazing Grace and Unconditional Love to a means of being a fire escape from hell...if grace has run-a-muck...it is the muck-pile that the grace-condemners and love-limiters created by discrediting God's Grace and love. Grace that is reduced to being just a fire escape is a false gospel muck-pile of hog-wash and deception that renders God LOVELESS.

God's Grace and Love is clearly a transformative Gospel that goes far beyond being a fire escape from hell, according to Titus 2:11-14: For the grace of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared to all men, Teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly, in this present world; Looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Savior Jesus Christ; Who gave himself for us, that he might redeem us from all iniquity, and purify unto himself a peculiar people, zealous of good works.

The slingers of the phrases "Grace is the lazy man's Gospel" and "people are better lovers than God" are so uninformed about Grace and Love that their ignorance far overrides the deception they are in. Their idea that "being under grace" and "not under law" is that we are free from moral obligation and can sin without any consequences, but no problem because God is love so there is nothing to worry about. The charge that grace people teach that you do not have to obey the law because we have gotten out of balance is indicative of their deceptional illusion...for not obeying the teachings of Jesus is not due to too much grace and love, rather, it shows a lack of grace and love living,  because to nullify God's commands means we have not understood His Grace or His Love. Grace and love is not only the means of forgiveness, it is also is the POWER for our OBEDIENCE...in fact, without the power of grace and love it is impossible to obey God's commands righteously. Doing it by self-effort is a result of self-righteousness in trying keep the Law as the measurement of obedience is a stench in the nostrils of God!

To preach the Law Keeping Gospel as a means of determining where we are spiritual is utter nonsense. A person cannot keep the Law of God without the Grace and Love of God. It is grace and love that sets you free to "walk not after the flesh but after the Spirit." The Spirit is not given by Law Keeping but to be graceful loving in living. Self-effort never produces righteousness no matter how well meaning it may be.

Live grace and love, speak grace and love, speak it correctly and the people who accept it will receive grace's love and power to live godly lives and fulfill its righteous requirements as they live the truth of what Grace and Love is in that their sin, past...present.and future is forgiven.

To be graceful loving costs me nothing and requires nothing of me. That’s the scandalous part that the law keepers can't get around it is an affront to "religious narrow-mindedness." Does that mean grace loving people have the right to continue to sin? Romans 6:1-2 is the answer; What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin, that grace may abound? God forbid. How shall we, that are dead to sin, live any longer therein?

This idea idea of ‘balance’ by the law keepers gives them the ability to keep God's people in the bondage of legalism.
God's grace and love does not need to be balanced with the Law, it needs to be experienced and lived for what it is! The true ‘Good News Gospel’ will not explain away morality and to live the moral commands, but enable their joyful and effortless fulfillment.

God created you and He loves you and because of His love for people He sent His Son to redeem you. God chose you because He loves you, He did not not choose you to damn you to an eternity of suffering! Don't take the condemnation and damnation of law-keepers as being from God, they are speaking out of ignorance and in need of your prayers for freedom from deception's deception.

Dead Flowers

A lot of people like to get flowers. Fresh cut flowers are so fresh and colorful and can be enjoyed for several days.

The only problem with cut flowers is that they do not last. Cut flowers are outwardly colorful and beautiful but they are actually dead.

The flowers die because they have been separated from the vine. The part that goes into the ground and gives water, nutrients and supplies life to the flower can no longer supply what is necessary for the colorful part to continue living.

Just as cut flowers wither and die because they have been cut off from their life source, so we as followers of Christ can wither and die spiritually if we are cut off from our source of life who is Jesus.

He is the vine, we are the branches. Apart from the vine just as the flowers are in the process of dying, so we too are in the process of dying spiritually.

John 15:5 – I am the vine, you are the branches; he who abides in Me and I in him, he bears much fruit, for apart from Me you can do nothing.

Apart from Christ we can do nothing that brings spiritual life to ourselves and spiritual joy to others. Apart from the vine we cannot bear good fruit. This is why it is so important to be connected to Christ who is our life source.

It is in Him that we live, move and have our being. He supplies all our need. He provides us daily with what we need to truly live for him. We cannot do anything that is of any spiritual worth or that makes a real difference in the life of another apart from Him.

Our main focus should be on Christ. He is our life. We need to give Christ the preeminence in all things. He is the Vine, we are the branches, apart from Him we can do nothing.

To continue showing the love and acceptance of God to others, to bring the good news of the gospel of Christ to those we meet we need to be attached to the vine, our life source who is Jesus, God within us.

Grace - Strongest When We Are at Our Weakest!

Grace comes into its own in weakness, isn't that wonderful?  It works the MOST magically and powerfully when we are bitter, angry, in turmoil, doubting, at our lowest and worst.   It always, ALWAYS flows in us and works its magic most noticeably, strongly and wonderfully JUST at those times when we are 'awfullest' - to others and to ourselves!

Grace is sufficient at all times for us..for His power is made perfect - comes into its own - in weakness..our weakness, failures, bravado, deceitfulness, cowardice, rage and angst!

And we don't have to get rid of confusions, doubts, or 'constrictions' in order to receive grace or get it to flow to us or through us...that's a condition, and there are NO conditions on grace!  Grace itself gets rids of any barriers or constrictions in our thinking or beliefs WITHOUT our help!

Grace is always inside us, flowing in and through and upon and over and out of us..we don't have to do anything to get grace to come or work in our lives..grace ALWAYS comes to us, is ALWAYS with us, and is ALWAYS working in our lives, and Grace ALWAYS wins out in the end over any angst, fear, bitterness, failure, defeat, addiction, pain or turmoil.

Grace us always 'flowing like a river,' always flowing in, to and through us!

Love is with us, Love is living in us..

Love always wins, Grace always prevails!

- Under the Waterfall

Prayer for the Week

Father, we thank you that, we can come before you this morning as your people, as a family, as a body of people that you have called to yourself, and as we contemplate the name of God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit, as we contemplate the community, of Father, Son and Holy Spirit, and we think about the interaction that must be going on between these three persons in heaven, three persons one entity one essence one in purpose pouring out love to each other and receiving back love, because we know our God that you are love, as we think about all of that and this from all eternity because this is who you are that you because you are love you are giving out of yourself, you are giving it out your pouring out your life eternal life.  And then to think, that you Lord Jesus, became flesh, became a human being, you entered into what we are as creatures, and then as you lived your life and then die, buried and raised, you caught us up within yourself, and you seated us in Heavenly places in yourself into, the very presence, into union with yourself, and in the Godhead. Now your love is poured out, that which was poured out amongst, Father, Son and spirit is now poured out into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, and now we are able to pour out and give ourselves not only to you Heavenly Father, but to those around us.  This is wonderful our God, this is this is beyond our wildest imaginations, this is beyond any human fabrication or any human creativity, who could have thought of such a thing because, it has to come from the very source itself.  Life comes from the source, one source, you our God, love comes from the source because you are love, and so we thank you Father your pouring out yourself into our lives and you've come a you dwelt in us even so, you have dwelt in us, we now are your house your home, thank you so much. We want to praise you this morning. we want to tell you we love you this morning, because of your great plan, the mystery of Christ being revealed to us through the new covenant that you've made with us.  We praise you this morning for that and for the relationship and the intimacy and the communion we can have with you.  Its wonderful and that we could have with each other as we look and see Jesus in each of us here this morning.  We bless you our God wonderful God, how wonderful you are, there is no God like you, everything else is nonsense, nothing can compare to your Majesty, to your creativity, to the very person that you are love, and all of the attributes that come with your person. We bow before you and acknowledge you are God, and you are amazing. We pray our prayers in the name of Jesus. Amen.

ReThinking the Source of Life

Over the next few weeks, we will be exploring the twelve convictions of the ReKnew Manifesto. The first of which focuses on where we get life.

In many of my writings, I speak about the source of “life.” By this I mean one’s core sense of identity, worth, significance and security. Over the years, I’ve observed that many Christians tend to get their “life” from the rightness of their beliefs. They base their identity on whether or not they believe the right things.

A core conviction that shapes the work we do at ReKnew is that “life”—our sense of identity—is founded in the love that God has shown us on Calvary. Because God loved us by paying an unsurpassable price, we each have unsurpassable worth, not because of what we believe, but simply because of God’s love. If we seek to get our “life” from any other source of “life”—including the assumed rightness of our beliefs—we are practicing idolatry.

Admittedly, this is a bit tricky because I am obviously passionate about theology. In addition, the work we do at ReKnew focuses on helping people to “rethink” what they thought they already knew. However, even though what we believe is extremely crucial, God’s concern for the loving way we defend our beliefs outweighs the correctness of those beliefs. We are called to do everything in love (1 Cor 16:14) and this includes how we debate our beliefs.

Our ability to lovingly debate beliefs depends upon getting our “life” from Christ. We are created, even as theologians, to get all of our core identity, worth, significance and security from our relationship with Jesus Christ, and from him alone. Because the cross demonstrated our unsurpassable worth to God, even if our beliefs are inaccurate in some respect, we can be secure in the cross-like love that Jesus has for us.

“Life” cannot be found in believing we are right (or by any other means, such as money, respect, or beauty).

While on the surface, this core conviction might sound basic and to some degree obvious, theological idolatry runs rampant. It is commonplace for those who are most passionate about theology to seek “life” just at this point. This is most clearly demonstrated when Christians become agitated, irrational and unloving when a core belief is challenged. This approach to theology might result in winning the debate, but it fails at love.

Getting all our “life” from Christ means that no aspect of our core identity, worth or security is threatened when what we believe is challenged. In fact, when we find “life” in the love of Christ, we can enter into dialogue with one another in a loving manner.

Even though we are passionate about the importance of the theological vision we feel called to advance through ReKnew, we are even more passionate about presenting these beliefs and engaging others in a manner that displays the love Jesus showed us on the cross.

- Greg Boyd

Nothing but Christ Crucified

One of the most remarkable expressions of the all-encompassing nature of the cross is reflected in an incidental, but extremely important, comment that Paul made in his First Letter to the Corinthians. He noted that when he brought “the testimony of God” to Corinth, he hadn’t come “with eloquence or human wisdom”. He instead “resolved to know nothing…except Jesus Christ and him crucified’ (I Cor. 1:1-2).

While this statement may be somewhat hyperbolic (did Paul really resolve to know absolutely nothing except Christ crucified?), it clearly implies that, for Paul, the entire gospel was found in the message of the cross. It implies that, when we understand what took place through the “foolishness of the cross,” we understand all that we need to know about God and about other humans. When you know the character of God revealed on the cross and what he thinks about us, as revealed on the cross, you’ve got the essence of all you need to know about anyone.

Excerpt from Benefit of the Doubt, pages 233-234 – Greg Boyd

Wanna be a Spiritual Leader… or rather not?

It was certainly not my plan to write about spiritual leadership, but somehow I came across this topic on the internet and here you are. Having read some deliberations from T.A. Sparks on how God, not man (!), makes spiritual leaders, I thought I could arbitrarily excerpt some characteristics from his article and share them with you. Since God’s way is not man’s way, a spiritual leader is not necessarily a theologian who graduated from college and has been pastoring a church for many years. Most probably, you won’t find God’s man or woman tarrying with a crowd of clerics, all of them decorated with titles and honors. No, the man of God is not a prince in shining armor, just as his Lord Jesus Christ in His time on earth did not push himself to the fore. Quite the contrary. It was always the people that so often pressed around Him because they would be drawn by the Holy Spirit in Him. Let’s hear now what Sparks had to say as to what a spiritual leader who was called by God needs to go through and how he eventually sees God, himself, and his work for God.

When the Lord is making spiritual leaders, He very often cuts them off from others, does not allow others to come along and help them.

We must ever remember that one characteristic of a true spiritual leader is always a deep humility born of a deep sense of dependence. A leader is not one of those people who is very sure of himself; he is very often someone who is not at all sure of himself, but sure of the Lord.

It is necessary for a spiritual leader to have suffered in the same trials as those being led; to have known the same depths of misery, to have been in the same complicated circumstances, to have passed through those very problems, and to know what it is to emerge from a dark, dismal and wretched state. All that makes a leader, but that also represents the cost to begin with.

Before we ever come to spiritual understanding we shall have all our own understanding pulverized, ground to powder, so that we do not understand anything, and we know it. If we are asked to explain we can give no explanation. It is not in us to explain. All understanding has gone. God breaks down the natural to make way for the spiritual. That transition is through death, through the grave. Then presently we emerge, and we are seeing things now from God’s side, we are understanding with a faculty and capacity that we never before possessed. Somehow or other a resurrection work has been done; that is, something has been quickened which we never had before. […] There is all the difference between natural understanding and spiritual understanding, and the difference is between death and life, and a grave is between. Oh, those dark days, when we lost all natural understanding and there was no light. It is a terrible cost.

There was a time when some of us were most sure. Oh yes, we knew, no one could tell us. We were the most sure people. We could lay down the law to anybody as to what they ought to do. The Lord has taken in hand and has ground to powder, made pulp of all that assurance. We have lost all self-assurance. We have come to the place where we feel that we could question everything in ourselves, doubt everything about ourselves.

The time through which we pass is a time when we lose all. There are times when we feel that the bottom has fallen out of everything. What have we to rest upon? Faith. Where is our faith? If God is not merciful to us it is a poor lookout for us. If this whole thing depends upon our faith today, the Lord help us!

Yes, these are dark, strange experiences, things you may not say to the unconverted. They are not bound up with our salvation, our acceptance before God. It is another side, the side of our usefulness to the Lord, the measure of our spiritual value to the Lord for the sake of others. The cost of spiritual leadership and a faith of this true, pure kind is borne out of a grave. It grows like a new child; it is quiet, steady faith in God. You have been through the depths, and you have found the Lord faithful, and you have had to say, “It was not because of my wonderful faith in God, not because of my saying I am able to hold on, to persist! God was faithful to me when I had nothing of faith as far as I was concerned.” That comes back from the grave. It is the cost of leadership.

Look back over the history of all who have really been used of God in the lives of His people. Very rarely has their life borne fruit until they have gone. They have laboured, and other men have entered into their labours. It means that there is to be no present glory, nothing for self, no present reward. It is a Moses leading through the wilderness, up against the real hard, tough side of things, and then passing out without seeing the fruit. That is the price of leadership so often; selfless disinterestedness, being willing to labour, to give one’s life, to suffer, to come to a place of value for others and never see the full result of it.

Deliberations from T.A. Sparks

A Good Samaritan or a Hypocrite?

Grace Vagabond writes......

A Facebook acquaintance posed this question today and it challenged me to consider what i think about it. Just thought I’d share. He wrote…

Is God a “Good Samaritan” or a hypocrite?

I define hypocrisy as: Do as I say, not as I do! I would like to share something that has been bothering me on and off for a while.

Jesus told this story and I’ve condensed it to keep this post short: “A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and fell among robbers, and they stripped him and beat him, and went away leaving him half dead. “…a priest saw him, and passed by on the other side. “Likewise a Levite saw him, passed by on the other side. “But a Samaritan, who was on a journey, came upon him; and when he saw him, he felt compassion, and came to him and bandaged up his wounds, pouring oil and wine on them; and he put him on his own beast, and brought him to an inn and took care of him.”

Jesus ended the story by saying: “Go and do the same.”

Here’s my problem—every day I see or hear far worse of someone beaten, robbed, or left for dead by individuals and governments alike, yet it appears as if God is passing by on the opposite side of the road, not wanting to get involved. I see Him doing little to nothing yet He expects us to always show mercy and help our fellow man. “Do as I say, not as I do.” I don’t see God being the good Samaritan as He wants us to be. So, sometimes I have to ask the question: Is God a “Good Samaritan” or a hypocrite?

-The Why Guy

This sounds a lot like the age old “why would a good God allow bad things to happen” question. To be honest, I have yet to hear a completely satisfactory answer from anyone on it, because it seems like anything short of God preventing bad things, or at least cleaning up after bad things, puts a big ol’ question mark on His goodness. However…

I want to be careful here, because pain and suffering cannot be taken lightly and I dont mean to minimize the significance of it. I wonder though, if it is actually better for the human race that God does not, with the wave of His wand, correct all pain and suffering. Hear me out. I think we would all agree that as members of the human race, developing hearts of love, empathy, compassion and mercy for our fellow man is of great value. But if we never experienced pain and suffering, how could we ever develop that heart of love, compassion and mercy for our brothers and sisters? If there was no pain and suffering in our lives, it seems that no one would give a rip about others and because of that, we would do no, and be no good to the world at large. For as much a we despise pain and suffering, I think it may actually be a gift to humanity. Without it, we would not know the HOW of love. We would never learn HOW to be the hands and feet of God. Love is best displayed in our response to pain and suffering. Sadly, our lack of love is displayed in the absence of response to pain and suffering.

As for the question of God doing little or nothing to respond to the pain and suffering that plagues our planet…

What if His response is US? What if WE ARE God’s response to pain and suffering and rather than seeing God as a deadbeat dad, perhaps when pain and suffering are allowed to go on untreated, it is we who fail, because it is we who are His instruments of mercy, compassion and healing. Perhaps this is why Jesus said “Go and do the same.”

Sacrifice of Praise

Hebrews 13:15 says, “Through Him then, let us continually offer up a sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of lips that give thanks to His name.” By praising God in the midst of your personal adversity, or even calamity, you demonstrate to every observer that God would get your vote if He had to run for reelection every year, or month, or day, or minute. It’s a snap to praise the Lord when you get an unexpected Christmas bonus; that’s not a “sacrifice of praise.” What’s tough is to believe that God always acts for your best good (defined as agape love) when He doesn’t come through in the clutch as you would have Him do. It’s hard to praise and honor and trust Him, perhaps even through tears or gritted teeth, when you feel like life has been dealing from the bottom of the deck. But offering up praise during such times as these demonstrates a “sacrifice of praise” (Hebrews 13:15).

Folks, I’m certainly not teaching the falsehood that I should smile and say a cheery, “Praise the Lord!” at Anabel’s funeral. It would, however, be appropriate for me to tell God through my tears that it’s OK—that this is not going to be an impediment to our relationship. And you know what? He will actually see to it that I become more conformed to the image of Christ for having experienced this heartbreak as I offer up “sacrifices of praise.”

- Bill Gillham

Concerning your personal relationship with Christ

Concerning your personal relationship with Christ, do you consider yourself simply one among the many? Or is your attitude one of “He died for me! ‘I am my Beloved’s and He is mine.’ He loves me.”

Well, you are part of the whole, but you are also unique, special, a “one of a kind.” Would it be wrong, then, to think of yourself as the bride of Christ? Of course not! Jesus did not come to indwell the church; He came to indwell the individual, the believer. He came to indwell you (1 John 4:15). Yes, you were created to be part of a whole, and, yes, your husband was designed to be the other half of that whole. This is the ideal in marriage, but, more often than not, the ideal is far from the norm.

My dear one, please listen. The physical arms of Jesus are not there to hold you. You are limited in your ability to see Him, to touch Him, to hear Him—but He is there, and your relationship with Him will only be as real as you allow it to be. Throughout Scripture, we are reminded to:

• “stay our minds on Him” (Isaiah 26:3).

• “abide in [Christ]” ( John 15:4).

• “set [our] minds on things above” (Colossians 3:2).

• “dwell on these things” (Philippians 4:8).

Through setting your mind on who you are in Christ— you’ll realize—

• His unconditional love for you

• His constant presence with you

• Your noble calling as His bride

• His promises of love and encouragement

• His thoughtfulness

• His tenderness

• His complete commitment to you

You will begin to experience His intimate love in your life. Jesus longs for our relationship with Him to be intimate and personal, a husband/wife relationship. Isaiah wrote, “For your husband is your Maker, whose name is the LORD of hosts” (54:5).

- Anabel Gillham

Preemptive Love

Some people define the teachings of Jesus as being pacifist or "non-violent", and while I don't disagree with that assessment, I prefer the terms "Preemptive Love" and "Proactive Agape."

Here's why.

Rather than frame the example and ethic of Jesus as something we don't do, or something we avoid doing, I prefer to frame it in terms of what Jesus DID do and what He DOES tell us to do: Love Preemptively.

Our first and constant posture is always love. This means we are already loving before our enemy attacks us. Our love for them is not reactive, it is proactive. Just as His love for us isn't reacting to anything we have done or will do. He just loves us - and everyone - all the time. Our love is what initiates action because love is a verb.

So, as we follow Jesus we are always loving because He is always loving us. As His love for us is poured into us and over us and through us, we also reflect that love and funnel that love and redirect that perfect, unmerited, unconditional love right back out to everyone around us.

Love begins with God and continues in, and through, us. We are His ambassadors of love. We are the incarnation of love in this world today.

Non-violence suggests that we are holding violence back, or that we are denying the violence within us. But Preemptive Love declares that we are beings who are so perfectly and constantly loved by God that we are being transformed into carriers of love who cannot help but love Him in return and others at all times.

Let's love preemptively and practice agape proactively.

"If anyone claims to be in Him, he must walk as Jesus did." - 1 John 2:6

- Keith Giles

Christ the Center

The center of the Christian faith is not anything we believe; it’s the person of Jesus Christ. The foundation of my faith is a person, not a book and a set of beliefs about that book. Rather than believing in Jesus because I believe the Bible to be the inspired Word of God, I came to believe that the Bible is the inspired Word of God because I first believed in Jesus.

Whereas Islam has always presented itself as a “religion of the book,” the kingdom of God has been from the start a movement that is centered on a person. The only foundation that can be laid, Paul says, for example, is “the one already laid, which is Jesus Christ (1 Cor 3:11). Peter also referred to Jesus as the “cornerstone” (1 Pet 2:6).

While the earliest disciples believed the Old Testament was inspired, they never based their faith in Christ on this. They used it extensively, but only as a means of pointing people to Jesus, whom they already believed in for other reasons. This is the role the Bible should play in our lives.

But, in contrast to many, I do not think the Bible can bear the weight, nor was it ever intended by God to bear the weight, of being the foundation for why we believe in Jesus.

Instead, our belief in Jesus is the basis for belief in the inspiration of Scripture. On the basis of historical, philosophical, personal, and spiritual considerations, I believe that Jesus is the definitive revelation of God (See Lord or Legend for more on this). Yet the identity of Jesus is inextricably wrapped up in the Scriptures. He is the center and culminating point of the narrative. It’s actually impossible to understand who Jesus is apart from this story.

As a part of this story, Jesus promised that he would be present in his corporate body by the power of the Spirit to continue to guide it (Matt 28:20; Jon 14). And under his spiritual guidance, the community he dwelled among quickly came to acknowledge that both the Old and New Testaments were “God breathed” (1 Tim 3:16). As a part of this community, therefore, I feel compelled to submit to this discernment.

My faith in Christ therefore compels me to embrace all of Scripture as the inspired Word of God. It seems unfaithful to Christ, as well as to his corporate body, to do otherwise. I trust the Bible because of the endorsement by Christ of the Bible. Even though I have many other reasons to support this trust, they are all much less important by comparison.

It is primarily on the authority of Jesus that I rest my conviction regarding the inspiration of Scripture. Christ is the center, and my beliefs are secondary to that center.

Hence, I don’t see beliefs rooted in Scripture as an end in and of themselves. They rather point us to Jesus and help bring us into, and strengthen us in, our relationship with Jesus. The moment we begin to think that Scripture or our beliefs are ends in and of themselves, we are in danger of making an idol of Scripture and our beliefs.

Knowing Jesus Christ is the end to which all beliefs point. This relationship is what gives significance to everything we believe. This center is the one and only source of the life that is the heartbeat of the kingdom to which we belong.

—Adapted from Benefit of the Doubt, pages 159-170 – Greg Boyd

Awakened to a New Life… IN Christ

"Bring me a worm that can comprehend a man, and then I will show you a man that can comprehend the Triune God." - John Wesley

Lately I began to wonder when this seemingly endless process of dying to self finally would be over. To be completely honest with you, I had given up any hope of ever seeing His light again, just as the apostle Paul said here, “… we were so utterly burdened beyond our strength that we despaired of life itself. Indeed, we felt that we had received the sentence of death. But that was to make us rely not on ourselves but on God who raises the dead.” (2 Cor 1:8-9 ESV) Just now as I checked the context of these verses, I saw some encouragement I unintentionally had ignored before. Paul wrote there,

“Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our affliction, so that we may be able to comfort those who are in any affliction, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God. For as we share abundantly in Christ’s sufferings, so through Christ we share abundantly in comfort too. If we are afflicted, it is for your comfort and salvation; and if we are comforted, it is for your comfort, which you experience when you patiently endure the same sufferings that we suffer. Our hope for you is unshaken, for we know that as you share in our sufferings, you will also share in our comfort.” (2 Cor 1:3-7 ESV)

The apostle told us here that we all have to go through the same sufferings. However, if we endure these God-ordained pains, we will be able to comfort those who are afflicted by God, too. In fact, we can only share this particular comfort we have received from God in our own afflictions before. If we have not received this kind of comfort, we have nothing to offer others which is both precious and helpful in God’s eyes. And someone who has never shared in the fellowship of Christ’s sufferings will not be able nor inclined to comfort another one, either. Quite the contrary, such a one will remain a self-seeker who tends to rule over others instead of serving them. What I found so encouraging above was verse 7 in particular that speaks of Paul’s confidence regarding those who suffer according to God’s will. He knew that these would certainly be comforted by God, either directly or through their more experienced brethren.

So, back to my first statement where I still wondered when this special sort of suffering (dying to self) will be over. What hit me last week was a rather short quote from T.A. Sparks where he had raised the following questions and had answered them without delay. He wrote,

When did we die? When did you die? There is a sense in which you never die in yourself, you die only in Christ. That is when you died. Christ’s death is your death.

It was so encouraging for me to read that it is not about coming to the end of my old self (which never seems to happen, either). Instead, it is simply about being transferred from one realm to the other, from the old creation and nature into the new one. IN Christ we have eventually died Christ’s death, or rather, we share in His Death He died on the cross for us. But oh, how long it needs to really be able to enjoy eternal life IN Christ on a permanent basis!! Yet when it happens, it has all been His work. Even, it was already finished on the cross. Nonetheless, we need to experience the fact of Jesus’ cry ‘It is finished!’ ourselves, today, in our time. And we cannot get there unless God by His grace bestows this heavenly birth on us from above. But finally we will see that the following is all true. Paul said,

Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come. (2 Cor 5:17 ESV)

Regarding the term ‘eternal life’ I found another quote by T. Austin Sparks the day before yesterday, which offers a seemingly simple explanation of what experiencing ‘eternity’ for us might mean. Sparks said,

Then you know how often in the Word this life is called eternal life. “My sheep hear My voice”, said the Lord Jesus. “I give unto them eternal life, and they shall never perish” (John 10:27,28). This life is eternity of life. You see, it has no beginning, it is not something of time — that is the first Adam. The last Adam — out from eternity, passing through time on into eternity, timeless life…

What sprang out on me was the remark about eternal life having NO beginning, like the Eternal God, the I AM who has no beginning and no end. Eternal life, thus, has nothing to do with time, with death (we shall never perish!), and with all those normal limitations we are confronted every day. I assume many of you have experienced situations in life where you forgot about time completely. Whether that happened when you were a child playing unconsciously of itself and you were oblivious of time and space, when we’re in love for the first time, or when you observed an impressive phenomenon of nature. The list is not finished…

Well, since eternal life has no beginning, be prepared… you might experience it any time soon.   Oops… it seems as if I had been my own ‘prophet’ once again since one day after having written this part before the ‘Oops’, I had another amazing experience with God again. In fact, I have felt quite sick for some days now and for two days a very strong headache has kept tormenting me too. After a not so long night’s sleep, I awoke quite early today and could not get back to sleep because of this hammering headache. Instead, I tried to pray which did not help for a long time, either. As I got up from bed I suddenly thought, “Oh, what was this??” The only thing I could sense was that I somehow observed my body while getting out of bed. However, that was not the normal and limited ‘Susanne-awareness’. Indeed, there was someone (something?) that looked somehow out of me and watched me doing what I was doing. Hmm… you might think now that I am incapable of explaining THIS properly and you are right. It is impossible to describe experiences of ‘divine consciousness’, of ‘oneness with all creation’, or of near-death experiences (if you have not read it as yet and like to read more, cf. for instance My Testimony). But what all these experiences have in common is that they give us a foretaste of eternal life. You might have read about such overwhelming and supernatural occurrences from people all over the world, no matter which religion they believed in. Yes, even atheists experience such elevated states of mind!

But what I saw today is that these experiences MUST have an end as long as there is still darkness inside of us. We need to be enlightened by the Holy Spirit until all that was dark before has completely dissolved in His light. Only then we will see Him as He really is. Only then our heart will be so pure that we can enjoy God’s presence everywhere and anytime, no matter the circumstances. The only way to get there is to endure God’s scrutinizing light that makes us share the fellowship of Christ’s sufferings and the power of His resurrection, too.

Apropos fellowship, this morning my Catholic kitchen calendar reminded me with a Bible verse (1 Jn 1:7) about the WHY we cannot have fellowship with everyone. In fact, we are all called to love God, our neighbors and ourselves. That is true. And you might know that our old nature is not able to do so since it is a limited version of our real self. We truly need to be born from above in order to possess divine qualities and to be able to love our enemies with an unconditional agape love. If we have fellowship with God and Jesus in the light, we can also have fellowship with other saints who walk in the same light (1 Jn 1:3,7). But take note, we are not called to have fellowship with the darkness which is Satan’s realm. Instead, the apostle John told us,

“If we say we have fellowship with him while we walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth. But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin.” (1 Jn 1:6-7 ESV)

Walking in darkness means to cover our sins and to present us as if we were righteous on our own. Dear brothers and sisters, as for having fellowship with one another, we need to be completely honest and transparent toward one another because we need to expose our inner darkness and our deep heart wounds. This is anything but easy (it is painful!!) and it is even impossible for our old nature that loves to wear a mask in order to look better before others and to not be hurt again. So, before we earnestly seek fellowship with another believer which makes us share God’s glory too, we need to get aware that our old self will be stripped from all selfishness and self-righteousness during this process of “iron sharpening iron”. Being made one with God and one another means that finally there will be no separate self any longer. There where were two separate beings before, there will be one new and unified being that shares the same heart and mind (God’s!). Yet our God-given individuality won’t disappear at all. Quite the contrary! We can only become who we were created to be if we are being made one with God and with one another in the Body of Christ.

In closing, a special thanks to my husband Paul Schuberth for inspiring me regarding the title. Actually, I thought I was more or less done with my article yesterday (which was not true), 😉 yet I could not find a heading which I liked at all. As my hubby suddenly came into our office, I asked him to suggest a title although he had no idea what I had been writing about. Paul only said, “Awakened!” and I knew at once that this word was God’s idea. Isn’t it funny how God sometimes acts?

by Susanne Schuberth